Evolution Of Organisms

Your Mission Read the papers in the Essay 3 folder in this order: Graham et al 2017.pdf (pages 323 – 326) Hoeck et al 2010.pdf Diniz-Filho et al 2017.pdf Tanaka 1997.pdf Maan et al 2009.pdf K.Y. Kaneshiro (1995; not included in your reading list) says, “Islands have long been recognized as the best places on earth for investigating evolutionary processes. Darwin (1859) formulated his ideas about natural selection and evolution during his field studies of the organisms on the Galapagos Islands. Life forms on islands epitomize nature’s creativity as evidenced by the explosive radiation and the tremendous numbers of species in many groups of organisms that have evolved on islands. On the other hand, island ecosystems also epitomize nature’s vulnerability as evidenced by the high rate of extinction. Many of these island ecosystems are faced with an extinction crisis primarily due to the ecological fragility of islands. Thus, islands are extremely important not only for the field of Evolutionary Biology but also for the field of Conservation Biology, and the plants and animals that have evolved on islands have given scientists the opportunity to research on both these areas of biology.” Use the bolded sentence above as your prompt (introduce and conclude with that idea) and address the following points to build your argument: What is an insular habitat? What is an inhospitable matrix and why is it important? Why is an islands degree of separation from other islands important? Why is time important? Why is area important? How does genetic drift affect evolution of organisms on islands? How does selection affect evolution of organisms on islands? How does inbreeding depression affect evolution of organisms on islands? How does sexual selection affect evolution of organisms on islands? Which force of evolution, if any, do you think is the greatest in island systems Can it all really be simplified in such a way? Considering your answer to the questions above, what can we learn about evolution on mainland systems?